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Death Row Inmate's Lawyers Ask Taft For Help
9/30/2005, 12:37 p.m. ET COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Lawyers for a death row inmate convicted of killing a northwest Ohio postmistress in 1982 have asked Gov. Bob Taft for help before their client's second clemency hearing in two weeks. In a letter sent Thursday, John Spirko's lawyers asked Taft to request any documents from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service that involve an investigation into the behavior of former postal inspector Paul Hartman, the state's lead investigator and a star witness in the Spirko case. Taft spokesman Mark Rickel said the governor's office was reviewing the request. Spirko's lawyers also are seeking an interview with Gregory Duerr, a current postal inspector who wrote in a letter that he witnessed conduct by Hartman "bordering on criminal." Duerr wrote that more than a dozen colleagues filed complaints about Hartman in the late 1990s. Spirko is hoping Taft can push the inspection service to release the documents soon, Spirko attorney Alvin Dunn said Friday. Another Spirko attorney, Thomas Hill, asked the inspection service for the documents Sept. 22, saying they were needed in time for Spirko's clemency hearing Oct. 12. "We're taking every step we can to expedite this process," Dunn said Friday. "We truly believe the governor should want this information." A message was left with the inspection service seeking comment. Spirko, 59, is scheduled to be executed in November for the murder of Betty Jane Mottinger, 48, who was the postmistress in Elgin. She was abducted and stabbed nearly 20 times, wrapped in a curtain and dumped in a field. Her body was found three weeks later. He has denied any involvement. Taft delayed Spirko's scheduled Sept. 20 execution to look into whether prosecutors presented inaccurate information at a clemency hearing in August. The parole board, which voted 6-3 against recommending clemency, requested the rehearing, and the attorney general's office recommended it. The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported that Timothy Prichard, director of the attorney general's capital crimes office, made false statements and mischaracterized evidence regarding what Spirko knew about the murder and where he was on the day of the killing. The newspaper wrote its story after comparing Prichard's statements to the parole board with the case record. Spirko's lawyers have asked a federal judge in Toledo to allow testimony regarding Hartman's behavior, but he won't rule until Oct. 7, five days before the clemency hearing. The lawyers asked Taft to consider delaying the proceedings if the information isn't provided by then.
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